HEALTH NOTES.

Waikato Times, Volume 100, Issue 16817, 8 June 1926, Page 9

HEALTH NOTES.

DIPHTHERIA. MAKING CHILDREN IMMUNE. (Special to Times.) (Published under the authority of the Ilcallh Department.) Even to-day diphtheria is justly regarded as one of the most dreaded diseases of childhood; but in earlier years its appearance, in a community brought calamity and terror. Discussion and arguments were waged as to its identity and cause, until in ISS3 (he special germ of the disease was discovered by Klebs. and in 1881 was grown in culture by Loeffler. When the enemy was thus detected and the plan of campaign revealed il became possible to fight it. and nowadays Ihero are few diseases concerning which we know as much as we do of diphtheria, or which we can attempt to prevent and control more hopefully. Yet even to-day diphtheria takes serious toll of a population. Thus in New Zealand for the last five years there have been 10,780 cases of diphtheria with HBO deaths. While diphtheria is present the whole year round, it is more common in winter months. It occurs more frequently among children than among adults, children under five years of age being most, readily affected. Each new case of diphtheria is derived from a previous case or from a "diphtheria bacillus carrier"—that is, an apparently well person who harbours the diphtheria germ in bis nose. mouth or throat. The infection is caused either by direct contact, as by kissing or being sprayed with moislure thrown out- in I he. act, of couching or sneezing, or indirectly through the agency of various objects which have been contaminated by infected persons. Symptoms of the Disease. While diphtheria may affect, other regions of the body, the usual sites of Hie disease are the tonsils and throat, hence the most, characteristic symptoms are sore throat accompanied by rapid pulse and fever, and the formation of a membrane spreading over the throat. In the early stages the symptoms resemble those of a common cold, and as young children may not, complain of a sore throat it is necessary to realise that an apparently trivial illness may be the beginning of diphtheria, and no time should be lost in calling medical advice. As the site'of the disease is not invariably the throat, it docs not necessarily follaw that because there is no membrane on the throat there is no diphiheria. and for this reason also medical advice should be obtained in any suspected case. Diphtheria Anti-toxin. There' are few diseases where early treatment is so efficacious and so fraught with hope as in diphtheria. There is no disease also in which early diagnosis and prompt treatment are ~,oi'o essential. We have at hand a powerful antidote in the serum, commonly known as anti-foxfn, one of the u-rcatcst triumphs of preventive medicine. Were il. possible to apply this lernedy in sufficient doses and early enough in all cases, mortality from diphtheria would almost vanish. As i! is the disease has been robbed of much of its former terror. Given in the early stages of the dis-

eased diphtheria anti-toxin is a power- *' riil weapon in cutting short the disease. Given to contacts, that is to say; people.who have been exposed lo infection from diphtheria, it affords • temporary protection against it. Unfortunately this protection lasts only for two or three weeks, and leaves the individual at the end of that time as susceptible to the disease as ever. The, chief difficulty in the prevention of diphtheria has been the great number of healthy persons who carry bacilli in their throats. In the win!or season it has been found that more llian 1 per cent, of our population are diphtheria carriers. It is manifestly impossible to isolate such large numbers, even if it were not utterly hopeless and absurd to attempt ever to examine the entire population in order to detect all carriers. These carriers transmit the disease in spite of all that has been previously done to prevent it, and a susceptible person, especially a child, coming into assoclalion with a carrier, is likely to fall victim to diphtheria. Protection from Diphtheria. In view of the fact, therefore, that children are necessarily exposed to I lie risk of infection from diphtheria, il, would obviously be an advantage were there any means of conferring upon them an immunity, that is, a permanent power of resistance to infection. Fortunately the new means for dealing with the situation is now available. It is now possible to protect, a child from diphtheria in the same way as vaccination protects against smallpox. This may be done by giving him an injection of a vaccine (toxin antitoxin) at weekly intervals for three weeks, which confers practically an absolute immunity to diphtheria. Thousands of children every year in England and America receive this treatment, with the. effect that the incidence of diphtheria is greatly lessened thereby. Preventive treatment for diphtheria by toxin anti-toxin had until the last year been carried out in only a few selected schools and orphanages in New Zealand. 11, was felt, right, however, that this means of defence should be made more widely available. In certain areas where outbreaks of diphtheria have occurred frequently, therefore, meetings of parents were held last, year and addressed by school medical officers on this question. Arrangements were made for children to receive immunisation. No child was given immunisation without the written consent, of the parent, Irextment being in no way a compulsory one. as il appeared wiser merely to educate the public by administering the benefits of the treatment, rather than to antagonise them by enforcing a measure which they did not fully comprehend. Approximately 1100 children were immunised during the period April to December last year. Except for a temporary slbrhl illness in a few cases, treatment was carried out witti little inconvenience. A satisfactory feature of the work was requests from several school committees that the children attending their schools should have the benefit of treatment. The necessary materia! (>iv carrying out Immunisation for diphtheria will be supplied free to medical practitioners on application to Ihe Health Department.

An important point in considering Ihe preventive treatment for diphtheria by use of loxln anti-toxin is that -ihu immunity obtained by this method is not conferred immediately, taking about tlirce months to develoji. it is not to be regarded, therefore, as an emergency measure for immediate use after exposure to infection.

When there is any reason to suspect Hie presence of diphtheria in I lie house, medical advice must be immediately obtained. This is necessary lor the sake of the sufferer, as safety is mainly assured by the immediate

(Continued at foot of next column.)

US'' of anli-ioxin. ami i! is also necessary for the sake of Ihosc brought into contact wilb the patient, who may be given an immediate (though temporary) immunity by receiving antitoxin treatments.